Despite travelling with a full complement of 11 players to take on local rivals Strongroom, no one on the Pacific team noticed they were missing their two most important players.

With rain threatening, and soon arriving, the two skippers quickly agreed that only a Twenty20 game would offer any hope of a result. Perhaps the Finsbury Park players – fired up by the challenge of planting their flag in the posh Highgate heartland of another music-biz-based team – should have realised the cricketing gods were against them when their inspiring captain, Murtaza Siddiqui, discovered he had forgotten his whites.

However, he marshalled his fielders expertly, and the home batters were restricted to a very gettable 125. The highlights included a terrific boundary catch by Ben Stockton, a bewitching spell of off-spin from Waqas Shabbir and the prowling cover presence of Matt Keating (dashing in shorts – the birth of another T20 innovation?) and Zahid. But the efforts of the fast bowlers – Stockton, Rose, Kumar – contending with a wet ball and a pudding of a pitch - were particularly commendable.

Were it not for the momentum provided by the Strongroom right-hander (and leading left-winger) James Schneider – whose many attractive shots in a half-century were punctuated with an assortment of Harrow drives and missed catches (the wet ball again) – the home team would have been in real trouble. If Corbyn has as many lives as the Stongroom opener, his political average could well zoom up to No 10.

Strongroom may have fancied their chances as the Pacific reply began under a steady downpour. However, Aly Duncan and Toby Chasseaud made light of the darkening skies and the sodden outfield, applying their own momentum to put Pacific well on course. Unfortunately, as the rain intensified, the Highgate bowlers complained that bowling was impossible, and play was abandoned with the score on 42-0, after 6.4 overs.

It was only then, over a very acceptable tea under the shelter of ancient woodland (a long way from Wray Crescent), that Pacific realised they were missing two key men – Msrs Duckworth and Lewis, Surely their formula would award the win to the Finsboty Park players?

Well no. Captain Siddiqui fessed up. A Duckworth-Lewis outcome has to be agreed by the skippers before the start of play. (Plus, a glance at the DL app showed that we may have been fractionally behind – Ed.) Just shows how costly a distraction like forgetting your whites can be.

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Match report by Guardian correspondent Andrew Mayers. Special mention must go to Andrew for convincing the Strongroom skipper to allow him to wear his special glove in the field on the grounds that "my hands are soft" and for getting a lift to the tube after the game in the groundkeeper's buggy.